Coin collector apparatus



Cct. 28, 1941. ||v A HENNlNG' 2.260.522

COIN COLLECTOR APPARATUS Filed May 7, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l /N VEA/TORHA. /fE/v/v/NG 4'9 50 217 5y www,

vATTOAI'VEV Oct' 28, 1941- H. A. HENNING 2,260,522

- COIN COLLECTOR APPARATUS Filed May 7, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 www Oct.28, 1941. H. A, HENNING 2,260,522

COIN COLLECTOR APPARATUS 7' TOR/VE V Oct. 28, 1941. H, A- HENNgNG2,260,522`

' COIN COLLECTOR APPARATUS Filed May 7, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 F/G. 9 :l

FIG., l@

T., ma @(54 f f 1.1L! 1' VEA/TOR H. A. HENN/NG A T TURA/EV Patented Oei.2s, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE G01N COLLECTOR APPARATUSApplication May 7, 1940, Serial No. 333,770

2 Claims.

This invention relates to telephone coin coli lectors and moreparticularly to an electromagnetic structure of a type suitable for usein the collection or refunding of deposited coins.

A primary objc-ct of the invention is to improve the eliciency oftelephone coin collectors, i

particularly in securing the selective operation of an electromagnet inaccordance With the po-larity of the voltage applied thereto.

The electro-magnetic structure of this invention is of particular valueinl the operation of telephone coin collectors wherein the subscribertentatively deposits a coin which is placed under the control of thecentral oice and is subsequently collected or refunded depending uponWhether the desired telephone connection is obtained. Thus in the typeof coin collector disclosed in the O. F. Forsberg United States Patent1,043,219, issued November 5, 1912, the coin deposited by the subscriberis temporarily held upon the coin trap which is supported by a pivotedvane under the control of an electromagnet. If the pivoted vane is movedby the electromagnet in one direction the deposited coin is collected,while if it is moved in the opposite direction the coin is refunded andthe direction the vane is moved depends upon the polarity of the appliedvoltage. For producing such a selective actuation to control coincollection or coin refund an electromagnet is required which is capableof efficient operation over a Wide variation in energizing current andload.

This invention as applied to a telephone coin collector of the abovetype preferably comprises a single-coil electromagnet. The armature forthe electromagnet has a lateral extension to which is rotatably coupleda depending member comprising a permanent magnet located in the field ofthe electromagnet so that the depending member is deected laterally in adirection dependent upon the polarity of the voltage applied to theWinding. The depending member will, therefore, be moved longitudinallywhenever the armature is attracted and at the same time Will bedeflected laterally in a direction defining the polarity of the appliedvoltage. The lower end of the depending member may comprise a cam typelatch for engaging suitable means for rotating the coin vane clockwiseor counter-clock- Wise depending upon the direction the depending memberis deflected.

In accordance with this invention the previously described dependingmember has a loose link CDnrleCtOnwith the almtlll? GXQHSOH 55 latchcarried by the extension of the electromag-- whereby the usual armaturerestoring spring may restore the armature to normal while the subsequentrestoring of the depending member townormal is secured by a retractilespring coupling the armature extension to the depending member andeffective only when the coin load has beendischarged from the coin trap.

A further feature of the invention is concerned with the control of thespring contacts which are closed by initial coin deposit to place .theelectromagnet under control of the remote central office. In accordancewith this invention the mechanism which serves to enable these contactsto assume their normal operated condition comprises an extension of thedepending member previously mentioned. While this depending member whenactuated serves to move the coin vane to a position to enable the cointrap to drop under the influence of gravity, the discharge of coinsfrom` the coin trap may be accelerated by having the armature oi' theelectromagnet carry a spring extension for positively engaging theexternal portion of the coin trap to positively dump the trap after thetrap has been freed from the coin vane. Still further features of theinvention will be apparent from the following detailed description.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a sectional View of a central portion of a telephone coincollector employing the coiny relay of this invention.;

Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram of a coin collector substation;

Fig. 3 is an end view partly in section of the 35 coin relay andassociated coin hopper;

Fig. 4 is a side view partly in section of the apparatus of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a top view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; v 40 Fig. 6 isa View of the contact springs and associated parts in their operatedCondition due to coin deposit;

Fig. 7 is similar to Fig. 4 except that certain movable parts are shownin operated condition due to the application of collect current to therelay;

Fig. 8 is similar to Fig. 3 except that the movable parts are shown intheir operated position as in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 corresponds to Fig. 7 except that in Fig. 9 the movable parts areshown in their operated positions due to the application of refundcurrent;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of the cam type net with the various partsshown in their normal condition;

Fig. 11 is similar to Fig. 10 except that the movable parts are shown intheir operated condition due to the application of collect current;

Fig. 12 is a top view taken along the line l2-I2 of Fig. l0; and

Fig. 1S is a side view partly in section of the lower end of the camlatch of Fig. l0.

The above drawings do not disclose a complete telephone coin collectorbut the general construction of one form of such a collector with whichthis invention may be employed may be ascertained by reference to the O.F. Forsberg United States Patent 1,043,219.

As disclosed in the Forsberg patent a person wishing to use a telephonecoin collector inserts a coin in a coin gauge and the deposited coinafter traversing a coin chute I5 for testing its genuineness and afterstriking a suitable coin signal drops into a coin hopper I6 and cornesto rest upon a coin trap l1 which extends across the passageway. Thistrap I1 which is shown pivoted along the axis I3 has a counterweight I9and when it carries a coin load is supported by a roller 28 on avertical coin vane 2| pivoted at its lower end. The coin passage belowtrap l1 (Fig. 4) is divided into two coin channels, a refund chute 22leading to an opening whereby coins are accessible from outside the coincollector housing 23, and a collect chute 24 leading to a cashcompartment within the housing. As explained in the Forsberg patent, ifthe vane 2l is moved to close the collect passageway 24 the dropping oftrap I1 will allow the deposited coin to fall into refund chute 22 whileif the vane is moved to close the refund passageway 22 the dropping oftrap l1 will allow the deposited Cil shoulder 38 which on its upwardtravel due to armature attraction picks up an additional armaturerestoring spring 39.

Near its outer end arm 36 also carries a stud or pin 4|) which projectsthrough a slot 4I in a vertically arranged member 42 where the length ofthe slot in the direction of movement of arm 36 due to armatureattraction is substantially greater than the diameter of pin 48.Extending between stud 40 on arm 36 and a stud 43 cn member 42 is acoiled spring 44 for normally maintaining stud 40 in substantialengagement with the upper end of slot 4I whereby arm 36 and member 42may be moved upwardly simultaneously but enabling the restoring ofmember 42 to its normal position to be delayed for a short time afterarmature has been restored to normal. It will also be obvious thatmember 42 is free to pivot about pin 48 as an axis. This substantialengagement of pin 40 against the upper end of slot 4| is obtained byadjustment of the position of stud I4 against which arm 36 is biased byrestoring spring 31- Vertical member 42 also carries a small permanentbar magnet 45 the lower end of which lies centrally in the air-gapbetween the adjacent ends of arms 34, 35. When member 42 is raisedvertically by armature attraction its upper end 46 is adapted to engagethe lower arm 41 of an angular lever 48 to operate the spring pile-up aswill be described later.

Suitably supported between spaced portions 49 and 58 of the bottom plate5| of the coil supporting structure is a stationary rod 52 about coin tofall into collect chute 24, The apparatus l so far described is similarto that disclosed in the Forsberg patent.

The invention in the embodiment shown in the drawings is primarilyconcerned with the provision of improved means whereby the operation ofvane 2l may be remotely controlled to collect or refund a deposited coindepending upon whether or not the desired telephone connection issecured.

Suitably mounted on lugs 21, 28 of tray 25 and adjacent the coin hopper16 is an electromagnet comprising a single coil 26 surrounding a core ofsoft iron or other suitable magnetic material. A U-shaped strip 28 ofmagnetic mawhich is rotatably mounted a framework (Fig. 12) comprisingtwo cross-pieces 53, 54 which are centrally apertured to receive rod 52.These two cross-pieces are rigidly united by two spaced pins 55, 56which lie on opposite sides of rod 52 with the two pins and the rodnormally lying in a substantially horizontal plane as shown in Fig 10.The cross-bar 53 has an upwardly extending arm 51 terminating at itsupper end in a fork 58 for receiving the coin vane pin 58 which projectsthrough the arcuate slot 60 in the adjacent coin hopper side wall.

Depending arm 42 terminates in a cam type latch comprising a pair ofspaced jaws 6I, 62

- which embrace the pins 55, 56 with pin 55 norterial surrounding thetop and ends of the coil f jacent the core and a flat portion parallelto l and closely adjacent each of the plates 32, 33 of the return path23. An auxiliary return path for the magnetic flux is provided by arm 34fastened to the core at the armature end thereof and arm 35 extendingfrom the U-shaped member 29 at the opposite end of the core. Theadjacent ends of these two arms 34, 35 are separated by an air-gap for apurpose to be described later.

Integral with armature 38 is a lateral and up- Wardly extending arm 36to an intermediate portion of which is fastened the armature restoringSpring 31. Armature 38 is biased to its normal position by spring 31which holds arm 36 against a stud I4 projecting from the verticalmounting plate 84. Arm 36 also carries a mally lying in a recess 63 andpin 56 normally lying in a recess 64 as shown in Fig. 10. Intermediaterecesses 63, 64 the arm 42 has a hollowed-out portion 65 to avoidcontact with stationary rod 52. These pins 55, 56 serve to hold arm 51centered in its non-operative position, since the downward pull on stud43 produced by spring 44 causes a downward thrust on arm 42 to normallymaintain cam surfaces 63, 64 against pins 55, 56. rlhese recesses 63, 64are so positioned that when the pins 55, 56 are resting therein the arm42 and its permanent magnet 45 are centrally located in the air-gapbetween arms 34, 35.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the winding 26 of the electromagnet cannot beenergized until spring contacts 66, 61 have been closed to connect oneterminal of the winding 26 to ground. However, these contacts may beclosed by the deposit of a coin in the collector. Any deposited coinbefore coming to rest on coin trap I1 strikes a coin trigger 68 andcauses the coin trigger to move downwardly from its normal position ofFig. 3 to permit the passage of the coin after which the trigger assumesits coin actuated position of Fig. 6. A biasing spring 69 carrying astud is. normally prevented from closing contacts 66., 61 .becauseits'upper end 1| lies against coin trigger shoulder 12 as shown in Fig.3. Ho-W- ever, the coin actuation of trigger 68 liftsshoulder 12 out ofthe path of spring end 1I thereby allowing the biasing spring 69 to movefreely to the left as seen in Fig. 6 to close the contacts.

Thereafter and at the proper time a suitablev switching means 13 at thecentral oiil'ce (Fig. 2) may be actuated to connect either positive ornegative battery to winding 26 depending upon whether coin collection orcoin refund isdesired.

Subsequent to coin deposit but prior to the energization ofelectromagnet 26 the various movable parts occupy their normal positionsas shown in Fig. 4. But assoon as battery is applied to winding 26,armature'i!)` is attracted from its position of Fig. 4 to its position.of Fig. 7 where its stud 14 liesr against the adjacent framework of therelay. This armature movement lifts the depending arm 42 upwardly tofree pins 55, 56 of the-conning action of recesses 63, 64. As the upwardmovement of member 42 is initiated, permanent magnet 45 which lies inthe stray magnetic field .between pole extensions 34, 35 will beattracted towardsk arm 34 or arm 35 depending upon the polarity of theapplied voltage. If the applied voltage is of one polarity arm 42 inmoving upwardly is also moved counter-clockwise about its pivoting axis46 as seen in Fig. 1l to bring the lateral recess 15 of jaw 6| intoengagement with pin 55. With pin 55 in recess 15 the continuation of theupward movement of arm 42 due to armature attraction. causes arm 42 tolift pin 55 upwardly and thrust pin 56 downwardly since with pin 55embraced by recess 'i5 of jaw 6| the inner configuration of the opposingjaw 62 lies outside the downward path of pin 56. The completed relativemovement of the framework comprising pins 55, 56 is shown in Fig. 11 foran applied Voltage of one polarity and shows that the framework 53, 54has been rotated clockwise through an angle of about 25 degrees.

On the other hand, if the applied voltage is such that the permanentmagnet 45 is attracted towards pole extension 34 to bring pin 56 out ofrecess 64 and into the lateral recess 16 of jaw 62 the completion of theupward movement of arm 42 by armature attraction will cause recess 16 tolift pin 56 upwardly since the other pin 55 under the assumed conditionswill be free of recess 15; and upon the completion of the combinedclockwise and upward movement of arm 42 the pins 55, 56 will lie in anangular position just the reverse of that shown in Fig. 11, namely, theposition occupied by these pins in Fig. 9. As previously stated,restoring spring 31 for the unoperated position of armature 30 holds thepins 55, 56 of framework 53, 54 in the recesses 63, 64 as shown in Fig.l0 so that coin vane 2| which is coupled to arm 51 of this framework bymeans of pin 59 cannot be moved in either direction to release trap l1until the armature 36 has been operated.

It, therefore, follows that the structure which comprises cross-bars 53,54 with the interconnecting pins 55, 56 will be moved clockwise orcounter-clockwise about its axis 52 depending upon the polarity of theapplied voltage; and since arm 51 is a part of this rotatable structureit follows that for an applied voltage of one polarity coin vane 2| willbe moved counter-clockwise to its coin refunding position of Fig. 9 andfor an applied voltage of the opposite polarity coin vane 2| will bemoved clockwise toitsv coin collect position. of Fig. 7'.

It will ybe apparent from the showing of Fig. 10 that if arm 42 shouldbe moved upwardly by armature attraction without any lateral movementthe horizontal shouldersr 11, 18 would strike pins 55, 56 simultaneouslywhereupon the upward movement would cease without producing any rotativemovement of the vane controlling arm 51. But the arrangement of theparts is such, assuming a small initial upward movement of arm 42, thatonly a slight lateral movement of arm 42 in one direction or the otheris needed to have only one of. these cam surfaces 11, 18 contact withits associated pin thereby producing the desired rotative movement.

Regardless of the polarity of the applied'voltage the resulting upwardmovement of arm 42 brings its upper end 46 into engagement with thehorizontal arm' 41 of an angular lever 48 which is pivoted about axis 19thereby rotating lever 48 clockwise from its normal position of Fig. 6to its advance position of Fig. 8. After coin deposit and before theelectromagnet is energized, the counterweight is restrained fromrestoring the coin trigger 68 to normal by reason of the fact that asshown in Fig. 6 the under-surface of shoulder 12 is resting on thehorizontal tip 1| of' the biasing spring 69. But the clockwise movementof angular lever 48 in changing from its position of Fig. 6 to itsadvanced position of Fig. 8 serves to cause a lateral movement to theright of the Contact spring assembly a distance sufficient to freetrigger shoulder 12 from the restraining action of spring end 1|,whereupon trigger 68 is free to restore to normalY although the closedcondition of contacts 66, 61 is not disturbed by this lateral movementproduced by the actuation of lever 48. In Fig. 8 it is assumed that theelectromagnet is still energized with arm 42 maintained in its fullyactuated poistion. As soon as the electromagnet has been deenergized,the downward movement of arm 42 allows the spring pile-up to move to theleft until projection 1| again engages the vertical edge of shoulder 12whereupon the electrical contacts 66, 61 may again assume their normalopen position.

The pin and slot connection between arm 42 and armature extension 36 isprimarilyV for improving operating conditions whenthe energizing voltageis applied to the relay for an abnormally short interval and is removedbefore the entire coin load has been discharged from the coin trap l1.If at the moment relay 26 is deenergized it is assumed that a coin isbeing discharged from the coin trap |1 it is obvious that coin vane 2|cannot be restored to its vertical position until such a coin has beenfully discharged. Under the assumed conditions spring 31 is free torestore armature 30 to normal while arm 42 will remain in an elevatedposition with pin 4U sliding down to the bottom of slot 4| causing anelongation of the coiled spring 44. After the interfering coin has beendischarged, spring 44 which, of course, is weaker than spring 31, willbe free to complete the downward movement of member 42 to its positionof Fig. 10 and in completing its downward movement jaws 6|, 62 willforce pins 55, 56 to assume their normal position in a horizontal plane,thereby causing vane 2| to again assume its normal vertical positionunderneath coin trap |1. The length of slot 4| is preferably such thatarm 42 may remain in its elevated position with armature 36 restored toits normal unoperated position.

The time required for the complete discharge of a coin load from cointrap l'l is reduced by reason of the fact that in the embodiment shownit is not necessary to rely solely on the coin load to tilt the cointrap downwardly after the coin vane has been removed. Armature extension36 has a lug 8| surrounded by a coiled wire 82, the free endl 83 of thewire being bent outwardly towards the coin hopper to normally lie justbelow counterweight I9 of the coin trap as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Whenthe armature is attracted, spring linger 83 in being raised positivelyengages counterweight I9 to initiate the downward movement of the cointrap although as shown in Fig. 8 the counterweight I9 in its finaloperated position is out of engagement with projection 83.

If desired, the spring pile-up may comprise two normally closed springcontacts 85, 86 for shortcircuiting the pulsing contacts of the callingdial 81 until a coin has been deposited. These contacts 85, 86 arebiased to open position but are maintained closed as long as biasingspring 69 is restrained by coin trigger shoulder 12, since in thisnormal position stud 'l0 keeps spring 85 pressed against spring 86. Uponthe actuation of the coin trigger 68 by coin deposit whereby the triggeris moved from its normal position of Fig. 3 to its operated position ofFig. 6, biasing spring 69 is free to move to the left thereby enablingspring 85 to move to the left due to its bias, and thereby remove theshort circuit from the dial pulsing contacts. When the relay 26 isenergized it is obvious from Fig. 8 that contacts 85, 86 are againclosed and they remain closed upon the subsequent deenergization of therelay.

Spring contacts 66, 61 and 85, 86 are preferably mounted in a verticalposition on a plate 84 which extends upwardly from the relay framework.If desired, a dust cover for the spring pile-up may be provided by ahousing of which plate 84 forms a part. The cover shown in the drawingscomprises a metal or iiber box-like structure comprising a top 88,parallel side walls 89 and 9D, and end wall Sl. Side wall 88 of thecover contains slots 92, 93 for receiving projections 84, 85 whichproject laterally from the vertical plate 84 while side wall 90 containsslots 96, 91 for receiving corresponding projections 98, 99 from plate84. When it is desired to remove this cover the side walls S9, 90 may besprung apart LLO far enough to free their slots from the abovementionedlugs after which the cover may be readily lifted to expose the springpile-up for inspection or repair. If desired, side Walls 89, may extendlaterally a substantial distance beyond the mounting plate 84 towardsthe coin hopper while the top wall 88 of the cover may have a similarextension |00.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, an electromagnet having a core, an energizing windingfor said core, a nonpermanently magnetized armature mounted for movementabout a substantially horizontal axis and having a laterally extendingarm, a substantially vertically arranged arm, one of said arms having aslot, a pin on the other of said arms disposed within said slot, springmeans for biasing said pin to one end of said slot to cause said arms tomove substantially as a unit when said armature is moving from normal toattracted position while permitting said second arm to remain in itsattracted position during the return of said armature to its normalposition, a permanent magnet mounted on said vertically arranged arm, arotatable member, and means actuated by said vertically arranged arm forrotating said member in a direction dependent upon the polarity of thevoltage applied to said winding.

2. In combination, an electromagnet having a core, a winding for saidcore, a non-permanently magnetized armature mounted for movement aboutone axis adjacent said core, said armature having a lateral extensionadapted to be elevated when said armature is moved to attractedposition, a restoring spring for said armature, a substantiallyvertically arranged arm carrying a permanent magnet located in the iieldof said electromagnet, said arm at a point intermediate its lengthhaving an elongated slot, a pin on said extension projecting into saidslot and spring means connected between said pin and a point on said armabove said pin for biasing said pin against the upper end of said slot,said spring means being weaker than the restoring spring for saidarmature, said slot being of suflicient length to permit said arm toremain in its elevated position when said armature is in its normalposition.

HARLEY A. HENNING.

